Travel With Kids

With the unofficial start of summer starting today, many families are planning summer trips. Your family may choose a long trip or a day trip. As parents we all dread the question "Are we there yet?" With a little preparing you can make traveling with your little ones enjoyable and stress-free by following these simple tips:

1. Travel at night or get a very early morning start to your trip and let the kids sleep.

2. When traveling during the day, it helps to plan several short stops.. Find kid-friendly places to stop such as parks with playgrounds, historic monuments to give the kids a short break to work off their energy.

3. 1,000 bottles of root beer on the wall or B-I-N-G-O can really help to pass the time, and create some happy or sad memories depending on how good of a singer you are.

4. Bring a goodie-bag. Toys, games, bubbles, coloring books can all help pass the time during a long trip. Bring footballs, frisbees or soccer balls, to help gd the energy out during short stops.

5. Have your children write a journal to document where you’re going or where you have been on your trip. They can also practice the lost art of letter writing to friends they miss at home.

6. Of course, if you need to, you can always fall back on the hand-held games, tablet, CD and portable DVD players with earphones.

Let each child pack their own box or backpack of activities that way you can make sure they will like what they brought and it will keep their things organized and accessible.

14 Ways to Show Love for Your Child This Valentine's Day and Every Day

Valentine’s Day  is right around the corner and why not use this time to give your children a little extra love.  The great thing about these tips is they don’t just apply to Valentine's Day but you can use them all year round.

1. Use plenty of positive words with your child.  
2. Be available to listen to your child when he/she want to talk with you even if it’s an inconvenient time. 
3. Make an extra effort to set a good example at home and in public. Use words like "I'm sorry," "please," and "thank you." 
4. When your child is angry, argumentative or in a bad mood, give him a hug, cuddle, pat, secret sign or other gesture of affection he favors and then talk with him about it when he’s feeling better. 
5. Parents should institute both rewards and restrictions many years before adolescence to help prevent trouble during the teenage years. Allowing children of any age to constantly break important rules without being disciplined only encourages more rule violations. 
6. Make plans to spend time alone with your young child or teen doing something he or she enjoys. Send a Valentine’s Day card to your older child or teen. Make Valentine’s Day cards together with your preschool or younger school age child. 
7. Mark family game nights on your calendar so the entire family can be together. Put a different family member's name under each date, and have that person choose which game will be played that evening. 

Stay tuned next week for 7 more ways to show love for your child this Valentine's Day and every day. 

Source: http://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/news-features-and-safety-tips/Pages/14-Ways-to-Show-Love-for-Your-Child-This-Valentine%27s-Day.aspx

Life-Long Friends

Back when the world was a smaller place, it was common to hear of friends who met the first day of Kindergarten that are still best of friends 25 or 30 years later. These are truly wonderful friendships that should be celebrated. But as the world got bigger, families became less sedentary. Families often move multiple times, sometimes from coast to coast. It’s important that parents remember that making friends is a learned skill that develops over time. It’s also a skill that your child will have to use frequently in today’s mobile society. So, if your child has difficulty making friends, here are some skills and steps to take to get them started off on the right foot.

Skills

• Be a Good Role Model – Children are prone to emulating their Parents. So tell your children about the positive experiences you’ve had making friends.
• Common Interests – children need to recognize others with shared interests. These are kids that play the same sports, like the same activities, read the same books, etc. This gives your child a reason to introduce themselves and a common point of discussion on which to base a friendship.
• Listening – everyone wants a friend who will listen to them. It’s also a great way for kids to find the common interests they have with their new fiend.
• Empathy – this goes hand-in-hand with listening. Helping a friend through a tough day can further strengthen the bonds of their new relationship.

Making friends isn’t easy for children. Be patient, understanding and supportive of your child and friendships should develop naturally. Just remember to give your child the opportunity to meet new friends through placing them in new events and activities.

Are you Ready for Kindergarten?

With kindergarten registration underway, many parents wonder if their child is ready for this new frontier. Here are some basic signs that your child is ready.

They have sufficient oral communications skills.

They have the desire to be more independent.

They have a curiosity about books and learning new things.

They can dress themselves without assistance.

They can take care of bathroom responsibilities.

They can listen to instructions and follow them.

They can recognize numbers and letters.

They demonstrate sufficient motor skills (holding a pencil, coloring within the lines)

They function well in a group environment (they can share).

If you have any questions about if your child is ready, talk to their preschool teacher. As always if you have any question about your child’s development contact a healthcare or educational professional for more information.

Errands Survival Guide

Between work, kids and school it’s hard to get errands done and even harder when your kids are whining, crying, and throwing temper tantrums in the process. Here are a few tips to take the some of the stress out when running errands with kids.

· Explain the game plan – tell the kids exactly where you’re going on your errands and how long it should take.

· Set the rules - what is an is not acceptable behavior and that your shopping for others not for them. This will help to alleviate the “mommy or daddy can I get” questions.

· Tell them what’s expected - no running, inside voice, stay with the parents.

· Review car etiquette – no yelling in the car, buckle your seat belt, no throwing anything in the car.

· Keep your kids busy – play I spy when you are going through the store. Let them help push the cart. Have them help you find items you are looking for like a scavenger hunt. Sing some songs if your car ride is longer than expected or you are stuck in traffic.

· Give time off for good behavior – reward your children with a play date or something they like to do if they are good during errands. Just make sure your not bribing them but rewarding them to reinforce proper behavior.



With these tips you might get done all of your errands and actually get some time for yourself.

Leaving Your Child On The First Day of School

What do you do now? Your getting ready to leave your child’s preschool classroom for the first time and it starts: crying turns into grabbing which turns into a full blown screaming and a sense of panic.

Here are some tips for handling the situation.

• First, take comfort in the fact that this is normal – how kids react to their first day is as individual as each child. It’s a new environment and there is bound to be some fear and apprehension. If your child is crying it doesn’t mean that you didn’t prepare them enough for preschool. So don’t feel guilty.

• Remember that the teachers and staff have been through this many time before – take comfort in the fact that they have helped kids with this transition successfully and they have the skills to calm your child down

• Reinforce that you will be back to pick them up – explain to your child in a calm voice that they will be at school for a short time and then you will be back to pick them up as soon as school is over.

• Reinforce the fun they will have at school – tell them how much fun they are going to have doing activities and learning to become a big girl or boy.

• Stay committed to leaving – if you remove your child from the classroom on the first day it’s probably going to be even more difficult the second day and thereafter.

• Don’t sneak out – distracting them and running out sounds like a good idea but it may enhance your child’s feeling of abandonment. Tell them your leaving now, give them a kiss and reinforce you’ll be back in a short while and exit calmly.


Like many parents you might break down into tears in the car but it will get easier each day. Just remember that preschool is an important step in the growth and development of your child.
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Source: http://kidshealth.org/
http://preschoolers.about.com/

Backyard Fun

Are you looking for fun outdoor activities to do with the kids this summer? Here are a few ideas:

Gnome Village
Head to your local dollar store to find some inexpensive gnomes. Then have your kids uses some creativity and gathering sticks, rocks, leaves, berries, etc., to make a magical village. This is a great activity that you can add to throughout the summer.

Bugs are always fun
Make a homemade terrarium out of an old shoebox with dirt and rocks with holes punched in the top. Have the little ones search for bugs in the back yard and collect the in their homemade terrarium.

Scavenger hunt in the park
Make a list of things that you find in the park. Determine how simple or difficult the list of items will be based on your children’s ages. Have them find a flower or a type of rock. You can also use this opportunity to teach children about nature, science and history.

Create your own Water Park
Get the sprinklers out, baby pools, water slides, plastic toys and gym sets and have the kids create their own water obstacle course. Through in some water balloons and water toys and your kids can cool off on a hot summer day.

Let your kids lead the way, they have plenty ideas that can make adventures in the back yard even more fun!

Science Outside

Children are so curious about the world around them. And there is no better way to satisfy the curiosity than letting them explore and learn about nature outdoors. To continue with our theme of outdoor play, here are few fun and easy backyard science activities kids will enjoy.

Magnifying the Magnificent World Around You

The backyard is filled with things for kids to explore like twigs, leaves, pine cones, rocks, grass, dirt, and nuts. Let children collect some of these items and then explore them with a magnifying glass.

Bird Watching With Binoculars in the Garden

Help your child make pine cone bird feeders to attract birds to the backyard. Then use binoculars to observe them. One of the easiest ways to make bird feeders is to spread peanut butter on pine cones and cover them with bird seed. Tie pieces of yarn around the tops of the pine cones so kids can hang them from nearby trees.
With toy or real binoculars, your children can tell you what they observe while watching the birds. Let them learn even more by snapping photos, and using journals to document the kinds of birds that visit their feeders.

Backyard Nature Collage

Combine science lessons with creativity by having your child create a nature collage. Let children explore the backyard and collect twigs, leaves, and other things they find. Kids can glue their finds on construction paper and hang the collages on their walls.

Backyard science activities give kids the perfect opportunity to discover amazing things about their world.

Source: http://earlychildhood.suite101.com/

Hop-A-Thon

Hopping up-and-down is normal activity for toddlers. So isn’t it great that they can do what they love and help other children affected by neuromuscular diseases.

The pre-school and kindergarten children of The Goddard School Ashburn will be doing just that on Friday April 23rd when they take part in the Muscular Dystrophy Hop-A -Thon.

The children will be obtaining pledges from family members, friends, and neighbors for the number of pogo-like hops they make in a 2-minute period. Then they will donate the funds to MDA. The Hop-A-Thon is part of MDA’s national disability awareness initiative, organized by child-care centers and schools across the country.

All the money raised by this event will be used to fund summer-camp getaways for children with neuromuscular disease, assist with buying and repairing wheelchairs and leg braces, fund research seeking treatment and cures, provide support programs for families, and more.

Let’s get hopping for a great cause on Friday!

The Importance of Yoga for Young Children

Students at The Goddard School® located in Ashburn VA, benefit from our daily yoga class provided for children ages infants to six.

Teachers use the Apple Blossom Yoga guidelines, developed by the Yoga School, to augment cross-curricular learning through motor skills, science, math, language arts and social skills. Using nature, animals, and a little imagination, young learners gain improvements in focus, body awareness and control, balance, creativity and flexibility.

• The program is designed to educate the “whole” child through age-appropriate activities to enhance the emotional, social, intellectual and physical development of each child.
• Regular yoga practice helps children become more aware of their inner selves which can help them learn to release anger, frustration and fears.
Having children practice yoga is becoming an increasingly popular trend. Like adults, many expert feel that children do not get enough exercise and this can also lead to tension and stress. Yoga can offer the perfect solution to these issues.
Why is it important for kids?

Just like parents, children need to find balance and peace of mind. Since yoga is so successful with adults, a natural progression seems to be developing and adapting it for children through Yoga fitness exercises.

The benefits of yoga in young children
*Promotes Calmness
*Reduces Stress
*Increases Confidence
*Improves Concentration
*Develops a Healthy Body

Part II of Eating Together as a Family

Earlier this week we talked about the importance and the benefits of eating together as a family. But some parents might not know what to do once you get the family around the dinner table to get communication flowing. No one can benefit if there is too much arguing going on, if there is no meaningful conversation or even worse, if there is just plain silence during dinner. Below are a few tips to try to jump start the conversation and get to know your kids all over again.

1. Rule one - TV, radio, phones, text messaging- it all should be turned off during mealtime.

2. Set the table together with children and encourage them to clean up with you. This way everyone will feel important. This is especially important for the younger ones, since they can’t always help with cooking.

3. Adjust your meal time to accommodate as many members of the family as possible.

4. Skip the restaurant. Eat at home as much as possible. Restaurants may inhibit your child from really opening up and showing you their feelings. In addition, your family will get better nourishment from foods like lean meat, poultry, fruits, vegetables and whole wheat.

5. Remember that it is never too late to start a family dinner ritual. Just find a routine that works best for your family.

A regular family dinner can really develop into a family ritual like game night. Let’s bring it back into style. It is a great way for mom and dad to set and discuss certain rules, get to know more about your kid's friends, and be a good role model. The benefits of eating together will last a lifetime and change the life of you and your children for the better.

Sources: http://www.theparentreport.com
http://www.enotalone.com

Teaching Green

For the second consecutive year, Goddard has teamed up with Earth Hour. Starting March 22 Goddard Schools will launch a whole week of lessons and activities getting the students ready for the celebration called “Stepping Up for the Environment” on March 26th at 10am when the school will turn off any non-essential lighting for 1 hour.

“We want children to think about how we all impact the environment in our daily lives and how each one of us can make a difference. Earth Hour provides a great opportunity to accomplish that,” said Joseph Schumacher, CEO of Goddard Systems, Inc. “As educators and as parents, we want to help children understand that how they care for and protect the earth will affect future generations.”

To prepare the Goddard students for Earth Hour, the Goddard School Ashburn will include activities that integrate the environment. Goddard Schools across the country will create a large banner and students will decorate it with hand prints and footprints, leaving their own little “carbon” footprint. Then, at 10 a.m., schools will turn off any non-essential lighting for one hour to participate in the official Earth Hour on March 27th at 8:30 pm. The children will “green” their own communities, by planting trees and picking up trash around school grounds. They will also create invitations asking parents and neighboring buildings to join them in Earth Hour, as well as city officials and environmental leaders, to join them in the week’s Earth Hour activities.

Participation in Earth Hour supports Goddard Systems, Inc.’s ongoing efforts and commitment to the environment. Recently, Goddard has become involved with Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) which give schools the option of purchasing wind energy credits, offsetting 100% of a schools electricity usage with clean, renewable wind power.